Cuddles
by Autaria
Summary: Breakdown is presumed dead after being attacked by Airachnid. Knock Out discovers otherwise, and pledges his spark to helping the wounded warrior recover. Some Breakdown/Knock Out fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **After watching the Transformers Prime series I've pretty much convinced myself that Breakdown and Knock Out are best friends, but I like to ship them together :) How sad K.O. must have been when Breakdown died! :( That's partly the reason why I hate Airachnid.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he started loving Breakdown.

All the Decepticon medic knew was that they had been involved in another of Megatron's devious plans. One that involved reckless action and brute strength. Both of which Breakdown possessed, while Knock Out himself did not quite have. Knock Out wasn't often called to the field – his area of expertise demanded that he stay behind and fix the broken mechs who had taken a pounding from the Autobots after each clash between the warring factions. This job, which he was so used to, was what he was currently doing abroad the _Nemesis. _It had been another clash with the Autobots, which meant that the moment the troops got warped back by the GroundBridge, they would be hobbling off to Knockout's medical bay, spewing Cybertronian profanities. Which was exactly what happened.

Knock Out had the habit of asking who had caused such damage to a mech whenever he repaired one of the wounded Decepticons. The Vehicons would often answer "Sunstreaker" or "Sideswipe" – Knock Out was familiar with these two Autobot frontliners. They were reckless and powerful. On the occasions that Megatron did choose to stumble into the medbay, his answer would usually be "Optimus Prime", and the name would be ground out with vengeance, on the rare occasions that the Decepticon's injuries were too severe for his self-repair systems. And it wasn't infrequent that Starscream would limp into the medical bay, despite his ability to fly and get away from uneasy situations, and whenever he was questioned the second-in-command's answer was always a myriad of Autobots' names. It seemed that Starscream was the easiest target on the battlefield.

Tonight was no different. The _Nemesis _loomed over one of Greenland's many icy fields, snow whirling around the Cybertronian ship. Knock Out had just finished the last of the repairs and had sent the ailing Vehicon back to rest. The medic was now sitting hunched over a pile of medical reports, when he heard the pneumatic hiss of the medical bay doors.

_Who could that be at this un-Primus-like hour, _the medic groused to himself. _I've already repaired all the Vehicons. If one of them got their visors smashed again I'm certainly not going to do the job, I've already replaced them once and no matter what Megatron says they're really hard to construct – _he stopped ranting to himself when he noticed that it was none other than Breakdown who was leaning wearily against the doors, holding his left arm in his right.

"Breakdown," Knock Out murmured, relieved to see the mech. "Slag – what in the name of Primus happened to your arm?"

"Autobot," Breakdown grunted as a way of explanation. "Had a real tangle with Bulkhead."

"Sit," Knock Out sighed, motioning to a berth. "All right, let's see what he did this time. You really have to be careful during these battles that our Master insists on having, Breakdown." Transforming his fingers into welding tools, the medic watched as the mech sat on the berth, hunched forward, and began to work on the said appendage. As Knock Out worked, Breakdown leaned forward into the red automobile, nuzzling the medic's neck, optics half-shuttered from fatigue.

"This time it's a servo," Knock Out chided, "the next time it could be something like your spark, and Primus knows I can't fix that." He brushed a warm hand softly against his assistant's cheekplate, and huffed softly before continuing his work. Although neither of them would willingly admit that they had entered a serious relationship a few vorns back, Breakdown often showed signs of affection towards Knock Out. These gestures were often replicated, but only in the privacy of their private quarters.

"It wouldn't be in this condition had Bulkhead not slammed my shoulder with his wrecking ball," Breakdown groused, his cheek resting against the medic's side. "He's getting better at it, though."

"And that is why you should be careful," Knock Out rumbled.

"I know Autobots. They'll wound you but they won't tear out your spark chamber," Breakdown laughed softly. "They wouldn't dare kill me. It's okay, K.O. Sometimes you worry too much."

"I have a right to," the medic rolled his optics. "Every slagging time there's a battle it always ends up the same way – Megatron and Starscream and the Vehicons hauling their afts down here to get themselves fixed up, and sometimes you'll come and sometimes you won't, depending on the degree of your injuries…" the mech paused. "You get my point."

"I'll be careful," Breakdown murmured, pressing his forehead into Knock Out's flank.

Once Knock Out was done with the repairs, Breakdown flexed his newly fixed servo, testing it. The medic shook his head, clicking softly at the mech before returning to his desk full of datapads. All this had to be done – as unusual as it was, Megatron was a sucker for paperwork. Every datapad had to be shelved accordingly, each report submitted punctually to Starscream, who would vet through the reports before handing them over to the Decepticon commander. And, at the moment, he had a medical report to compose, listing out which patients he had tended to and their injuries.

Something nuzzled the sensitive cabling on his neck. "Surely you can leave all that for tomorrow?"

Knock Out sighed, allowing his lover to nip at his jaw. "I can't fool around tonight, Breakdown. I need to pass this to Starscream as soon as possible."

"Define soon," Breakdown grinned, baring his dentals as he wrapped his servos around the Decepticon medic, a possessive gesture. "Come on. You need recharge. You can't keep staving off rest. Megatron would want you functional instead of drowsy and looking like you just downed five cubes of high grade."

The medic took a long look at the stack of datapads before he frowned. "Let's compromise. I get to bring my report back to work on in our quarters. You get to snuggle while I finish up my report."

"Agreed," Breakdown grinned, scooping his partner up from where he sat.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please read and review :) It's quite fun to write Breakdown and K.O. fluff :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey there! This one's going to be a short one :) Don't worry I'll get to writing the next chapter soon :) I'm really sorry for procrastinating about this fanfiction, but holiday trainings have started and I have a myriad of other things to tend to. So, here's the second chapter! Please R&R!

* * *

He wasn't sure when he had started loving Breakdown, of course, but he was sure when he _realized _he loved Breakdown.

Knock Out knew something was wrong the moment he entered their shared quarters. Breakdown was usually there before him, as his job tended to involve late nights and exhausting operations. But it didn't matter – no matter how late, or how tired he was, Breakdown would always be there in his quarters, awake, waiting for his partner, a cube of Energon in hand waiting to be offered to Knock Out the moment the medic stepped into the room.

Tonight, though, the lights were turned off and Knock Out couldn't detect Breakdown's presence in their quarters at all.

_Breakdown, _he murmured, turning on an internal communications link. _Breakdown, where are you?_

There was no answer. Knock Out's spark chilled. Breakdown always answered whenever he called. In fact, Breakdown was always there. It seemed rather unlikely for Breakdown to simply just disappear. Perhaps Lord Megatron had summoned Breakdown? No, that was rather odd, because Megatron was currently off-ship. Perhaps one of the Vehicons would know where Breakdown had ventured off to. Frankly, it scared him, because Breakdown always left a note explaining his absence.

_Perhaps he went on a drive, _Knock Out shrugged.

Deciding to get some Energon himself, Knock Out headed for the Energon stores, rounding a corner and nearly bumping into Dreadwing as he did so. Perhaps Dreadwing would know where Breakdown was.

"Ah, Dreadwing!" He stopped short at the look on Dreadwing's face. Dreadwing appeared…sad? How could that be? The warrior was known for his aggressiveness on the battlefield and lack of mercy when dealing with enemies. How could one that seemed so violent appear…sad? Knock Out's spark clenched. He had a feeling this had to do with Breakdown's sudden disappearance.

"Dreadwing, do you have any idea where Breakdown has gone to?" It was getting very late, and rain was already starting to pelt down the sides of the ship, coming down like blaster bolts.

"Uh, Breakdown…" _Dreadwing _had used the word "uh"? That was not possible – Dreadwing had never appeared at a loss for words before! Knock Out's spark sank. He was almost certain this had to do with Breakdown. And why was there – something white and flexible – clinging to Dreadwing's armor? Without thinking, Knock Out's fingers ventured to Dreadwing's chest plate, pulling a bit of the material off. A quick scan confirmed it to be Airachnid's synthetic fibre strands.

"Airachnid…Dreadwing, what happened?" He wasn't sure what had happened, but all of a sudden he had Dreadwing forced back against the wall, servos pressing hard on Dreadwing's chest plates, growling at his colleague's throat.

"Tell me!"

"We were sent on some sort of a wild goose chase by Megatron, along with Airachnid," Dreadwing began, vocalizer clearing itself with a burst of static. "We were supposed to assassinate Airachnid. Lord Megatron's orders. I wasn't fast enough – she offlined Breakdown –"

Knock Out's cry reverberated throughout the ship.

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**A/N: **Well, how did that go? Please R&R! Breakdown's death is the main reason why I hate Airachnid so much :( In my opinion, Megatron should have sent someone more competent in fighting like Soundwave to kill of Airachnid. Soundwave is much too smart to be defeated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Hey there! Haven't updated in a long while, but I don't know why, I just felt like writing some more BD/KO fluff tonight. I absolutely adore this pairing, they make such a cute couple. Enjoy!

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"I have to find him, I can't leave him to die."

"Knock Out."

"He could be dying out there, bleeding Energon, optics flickering away –"

"Knock Out!"

"Or maybe some humans have found him and are currently trying to dissect him to learn more of our Cybertronian anatomy. Or maybe he's being kept in stasis lock. Or maybe –"

"Knock Out! Listen to me! Breakdown is dead! He's not coming back." Megatron's voice sounded melancholy. "I mourn his death as much as you do, but you have to accept the fact that he is dead. He can't be alive – Dreadwing saw what Airachnid did to him. I know you feel the need to avenge your partner, but not now. Not while you're like this." Gripping his shoulder plates, the Decepticon leader looked into the optics of their resident physician. "Knock Out, don't delude yourself. We cannot afford to lose another soldier to a tyrant like her."

"I am not deluding myself," Knock Out's vocalizer rose up several decibels. "Breakdown is not gone. In fact, I will go look for him myself. I will prove you wrong!" The red mech stood up, running for the medbay doors, which promptly pocketed and shut themselves, swallowing the Decepticon medic up.

Megatron sighed, gesturing to Soundwave. "Follow him, and monitor the situation closely. If it helps him release his pent-up tension, then by all means, let him hunt."

A nod was all he ever got.

* * *

Knock Out drove. Speeding past the highways and down deserted roads allowed him to vent his anger on his tyres. The approximate coordinates of Breakdown's offline site was right in front of him – a forest line loomed over the sports car, tall pines and sequoias stretching their branches into the clear azure sky. Breakdown's body would be here, right? Knock Out would find out if Megatron was right…if his partner was really dead, or not.

A part of him did not want to believe it. Breakdown was one of the best fighters he knew. Each time they had a tussle, Breakdown would always end up pinning Knock Out to the ground, and it followed with a hard nip to the jaw and a gentle kiss to the dermas. It was these little moments that Knock Out really loved, because they consisted of only him and his mate, and nobody else.

He had been intending to ask Breakdown to bond. He felt empty without his partner – his spark chamber was filled with a hollow sensation, as if his spark no longer emitted heat and had evaporated into thin air. Just like Breakdown's spark.

_Don't think about that, _Knock Out chided himself.

The medic reached the tree line, shifting to transform into bipedal mode before stepping gingerly into the pristine, untouched forest. The trees towered over him, giving the mech room to move. Dreadwing had told him that Breakdown's approximate offline site had been two klicks from the entrance of the forest, so Knock Out began to run, pedes pounding the ground.

Memories of Breakdown filled his CPU. Breakdown laughing after a game of cards with Knock Out. Breakdown punching his shoulder friendly. Breakdown leaning into him, nuzzling his cranial support struts. Breakdown laughing. Breakdown kissing him. Without realizing it, the Energon tears had already started to trickle down Knock Out's cheek plates. He would miss Breakdown's witty remarks, his smile, his entire being, and more importantly, his laughter. Breakdown's laughter was that of an angel's. It sounded like bells tinkling, and whenever Breakdown laughed, Knock Out did, too. Breakdown had the most beautiful laughter Knock Out had ever heard. It never failed to cheer him up, or make him smile.

Breakdown was sweet and charming – Knock Out remembered the times when he had been itching to race. Breakdown had agreed to cover his entire day's shift for him, without even asking for something in return. Breakdown was the kind of mech who'd agree to do anything for his beloved – sometimes even after he returned from his racing jaunts, Breakdown would have saved a couple of rust sticks from lunch for him. It was these kinds of things that touched Knock Out – these kinds of things that drew the two mechs together.

This was all Airachnid's fault. He _hated _her. He _loathed _her. Not even words could describe his pent-up, flaming hot anger. He wanted to murder her, to kill her, to do everything that she had done to Breakdown. Knock Out promised himself that he would hunt Airachnid down from the face of the Earth. There was no ship to take her to different planets, no safe web or rock she could hide under. When he was done with her, nobody would recognize her remains. She would end up on his dissection table, one way or another, and he would disassemble her slowly, part by part, in front of the Vehicons, the Eradicons, superior officers, in front of Megatron himself, who'd also been angry at Airachnid for taking the spark of one of his best soldiers.

His anger at Airachnid was directed at an unfortunate tree, who got its trunk snapped in half, crumbling to the ground. Knock Out continued running, punching tree trunks on the run and pounding craters into the ground with his pedes. He was furious. Airachnid would _pay _for what she had done. She would pay with her life. He'd chop her up and serve her on a golden platter to Megatron. He'd tear off all her extra limbs and then drop her in the middle of the forest, with no Energon and no supplies. He'd crush her spark chamber. He'd –

He tripped over something, something huge, and was sent spiraling to the ground. Looking up, growling, wondering what could be so large as to trip a full grown Cybertronian like him, he stopped short at what he saw.

_Breakdown!_

Something huge was lying on the ground right in front of him – something bulked, lying face-down in a pool of drying Energon. It was Breakdown – it had to be Breakdown, because it was definitely a Cybertronian by all counts. One arm had been smashed in, and bits of torn webbing stuck to his limp body. Knock Out sat there for a while, catching his intakes, and then scurried over to Breakdown.

"Breakdown?" He was almost afraid to touch his dead partner. Turning Breakdown's body over, Knock Out couldn't help but suppress a gasp. Breakdown looked horrible. Airachnid's synthetic webbing stuck here and there, holes puncturing his armor, wrecking ball completely smashed in, and there was a large stabbing hole right below his spark chamber, leaking pink Energon slowly but surely.

And then he saw the weakened spark, the blue hue so pale that he was sure it was almost transparent.

_Breakdown is alive. _

Knock Out almost wept at that. Breakdown was alive. He'd been right all along. Breakdown's condition was unstable, but he could stabilize it, and keep his partner alive. Drawing an Energon line from his chest plates, he connected it to a port near Breakdown's flank and started pumping Energon into the broken body. The most important thing was to patch all those holes, and then fill the mech up with Energon so he did not bleed dry.

Transforming his fingers into welding tools, Knock Out started patching up the gaping hole near his spark chamber, and then when that was done, the smaller holes at the side, at his pedes, at his abdomen. Knock Out ignored everything else – the wildlife around him, the broken trees that he'd punched, and the pair of dark pedes in front of him…the what the what?!

He was relieved to see that it was Soundwave. There was no time for questions, no time to ask why Soundwave was here as Knock Out's gaze snapped back to the bleeding body in front of him, all major holes patched up, and the port connecting them was pumping Energon into Breakdown at high hydrostatic pressure. To Knock Out's surprise, his peripheral vision registered Soundwave kneeling down to Breakdown's body, showing no emotion as usual on his visor. The communications mech extended a tentacle toward Breakdown's other port, and started pumping his own Energon into the bleeding mech, too.

Knock Out was grateful. He could feel his tanks being drained of Energon as they emptied themselves into Breakdown. Most of the holes had been patched up already, and there was no fear of Breakdown bleeding to deactivation any longer. The Decepticon physician parted Breakdown's chest plates. Already he could see the spark strengthening, its hue growing brighter. His own spark sang. He couldn't remember when he had been this happy.

A sudden pang hit him. What if he hadn't gone out to find Breakdown? Breakdown had probably laid here for about two days at least. If he hadn't come out to find Breakdown, his partner's spark would have most probably extinguished. He couldn't imagine life without Breakdown. Knock Out thanked Primus, thanked every deity he knew, even that Pit-spawned Unicron he thanked for keeping Breakdown alive.

"He's stable enough," Knock Out murmured to Soundwave. "We need to get him back to the _Nemesis. _Think you can take his pedes? I'll take the helm."

Soundwave stood, and there was absolute silence for a full minute, before a GroundBridge opened up right in front of the three mechs. Knock Out once again thanked Primus that Soundwave was there with him. Taking Breakdown's shoulders, while Soundwave maintained a firm grip on his partner's pedes, the two mechs carried their wounded through the Bridge, and into the Nemesis' medbay, settling Breakdown gently on a warmed berth before Knock Out went right back to work, giving Soundwave a quick 'thank you' for the assistance.

Soundwave, as usual, didn't nod or say anything at all. He turned to exit the medical bay. Megatron would want to know that his soldier had made it home, safely.

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**Author's Note: **Please R&R :D


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Welcome to the next chapter of Cuddles! Hope y'all enjoy! Three chapters in one day whoop whoop that's a first for me.

* * *

Knock Out worked.

The vain medic worked his limbs sore, his optics dry, and his fingers were so used to transforming into the various medical tools that he needed that he could practically do it during recharge. For the past few orns he had worked until he dropped on the medical bay floor of exhaustion. The moment he came back online, though, he was lying on one of the medbay berths. At first he thought it had been Breakdown who carried him here, but Breakdown was still in stasis lock – it turned out that the one, or _ones, _that had carried him to the berth had been Megatron and Starscream. Currently, the Seeker and the Decepticon Leader were sitting, slumped, side-by-side on chairs in the medbay as they curled up against one another, deep in their respective recharge cycles.

Knock Out almost smiled. He knew that Megatron and Starscream had a…_thing _going on between them for some time now. All the Eradicons and Vehicons gossiped of it. Perhaps that was why Megatron could not bear to hit or throw the Seeker out of the ship whenever a raid or a plan failed – he only yelled at him. Starscream, on the other servo, had stopped his ornly speeches against Megatron and his attempts to take over as Decepticon leader. They were all very noticeable changes within the faction. Not to mention the decreasing number of attacks on the Autobots.

Right now, Knock Out could not care less about his finish, or how he looked. He hadn't even touched his prized paint supply since he had learned of Breakdown's apparent death. He hadn't been near the buffing equipment at all. He hadn't even boasted about his appearance to the Vehicons or Eradicons who hobbled into the medical bay after a battle. Worse, he had not been taking his Energon regularly. Only with the help of Soundwave and Starscream, who had taken it upon themselves to check on him regularly, three times a day in fact, did the medic manage to get the necessary amount of Energon into his worn and weary systems.

Right now, the most vain mech in the entire Decepticon faction was sitting on the chair that faced Breakdown's berth, watching the various machines connected to the lifeless body of the mech feed their nutrients and chemicals into Breakdown's Energon stream. He was finally – at peace. Everything that could be done for Breakdown had been done, and Breakdown couldn't deactivate even if he wanted to; the machines prevented his spark from fading. Breakdown was a very young mech – only seven million human years old, just slightly younger than Knock Out himself. He did not deserve an early deactivation.

The fact that the whole war with the Autobots was over made him even more relaxed. Both sides had agreed to a peace treaty – they would no longer fight, for there was nothing else left to fight for. No point in winning a war any longer. Megatron had finally regained his senses and had stopped acting like a crazed slagger – his decision to quit the Dark Energon addiction cold turkey had indeed done him, if not the entire faction, good. Energon supplies were no longer a worry, since the Autobots had found a way to harvest Energon without damaging the planet they were living on, and Prime had agreed to share the secret with the Decepticons once the peace treaty had been arranged and the details had fallen into place.

Things were finally looking up.

With the war over, both factions now shared a common goal – to rebuild Cybertron. They would need to repopulate the entire planet, of course. It was embarrassing to say aloud but they all knew it true. Megatron had taken to encouraging his troops to engage in relationships, hoping that, in time, it would cause sparklings to be created. Cybertronian were already an endangered species, and if they wanted to save their kind, all effort would have to go into procreating. Due to the war, it had been a long time since a Cybertronian had ever heard the cherished pitter-patter of a sparkling's footsteps.

From what Knock Out knew, Megatron had gotten together with Starscream, Skywarp had started courting Thundercracker, and Soundwave and Dreadwing had become fast friends. The Autobots had their own little couples too, he was sure, but he didn't know too much of it.

And him? He was waiting for Breakdown.

Knock Out took time off every orn to just sit by Breakdown's berth in the medbay, talking to his partner, whispering sweet nothings, ranting about Vehicons who never bothered to take care of themselves and ended up with broken extremities while performing minor repairs around the Nemesis, constantly tending to the old warship and upgrading it. He talked about anything and everything. He talked until his vocalizer had nearly gone mute and he had to replace it. He was sure Breakdown could hear him, somewhere, deep down. He could wait. He could wait for as long as possible if it meant Breakdown returning to him.

* * *

A groan alerted him that Breakdown was awakening.

"Breakdown!" Knock Out clamored to his side, kneeling at the edge of the berth, resting his helm on his servos, waiting patiently for his beloved to wake up from stasis lock. Breakdown would be so happy when he heard that the damned war was over, and Knock Out vowed that he would ask Breakdown to bond the moment Breakdown had healed sufficiently enough to last for a full interface. He was not going to hold it off any longer. If he did – he was scared that Breakdown would once again be gone, and then Knock Out knew that he would truly regret it. He swore to Primus himself, right there and then, that he would protect Breakdown from anything else that tried to take him away from Knock Out.

"Breakdown?"

Breakdown's optics onlined, the yellow hue weakly establishing itself. The Wrecker seemed too disoriented to do anything for the moment, until Knock Out spoke again.

"Breakdown?"

"Knock Out." The words were weak; the vocalizer crackling from disuse. "Am…I – deactivated?" Breakdown turned his helm towards his partner, optics brightening ever so slightly when he caught sight of Knock Out. A small smile crept across his features, and Knock Out joyfully enveloped Breakdown's left servo in his own. A small drop of cleanser dropped from his optics, and the vain medic did not even bother to wipe them away. He was _so _happy. He could not remember another time when he had been this happy. Today had to be the happiest day of his lifespan.

"Breakdown, you idiot," Knock Out hissed. "The next time you go running off to assassinate someone, please tell me, because I'm going with you. If you wind up in situations like this again I will personally offline you myself."

Words couldn't express how happy the mech was. Knock Out wept softly, hiding his head in Breakdown's trembling servo. His vents hitched with every breath. His spark sang, calling out to the only mech who was meant for him. The only mech that he loved as much as himself. The only mech, perhaps, that he loved _more _than himself. Much, much more. The only mech he was certain he could not live without.

"Don't cry," Breakdown's melodious voice whispered to him, and Knock Out practically drank up the sensation of his partner speaking to him after so long. Breakdown's beautiful voice, working again. He'd even managed to get Breakdown's optic fixed. Knock Out stole a long look at his partner's body, memorizing every contour, every scratch, every scar. Every part that would need a good buff – and then, a good paint-over. He could do that when Breakdown was fully healed and was able to walk again. He memorized the exact colour of Breakdown's paintjob – navy blue, with hints of shimmering silver. Knock Out had learned, in this short period of time, to appreciate his partner fully – to appreciate his personality and his physical appearance.

"Knock Out," Breakdown murmured again, touching his partner's chassis with a shaking hand. "Your paint…chipped."

Knock Out almost smiled, but instead, his CPU chose to dispense another waterfall of tears. "Silly mech," he cried into Breakdown's loving touch. "I worked on you for three whole weeks and all you can say is that my paintjob looks horrible. You _scared _me so fragging much, you know! You were all but deactivated when I found you – you looked like you were about to join Primus any moment then. I hate you. I _hate _you!" He continued his quiet sobbing, but Breakdown knew Knock Out was just saying those words. He didn't really hate Breakdown. Knock Out could never hate him, and Breakdown knew that.

"I'm sorry," Breakdown murmured, and he lay, one hand pressed to the back of Knock Out's helm as they stayed together in the same position for the next couple hours – a mech so happy he was crying and another mech too weary to be doing anything but offer quiet comfort.

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**A/N: **Please R&R! :)


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